Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday evening that he was unaware of the details of the agreement between the United States and Iran , and expressed his commitment to continuing the occupation of Lebanese territories.
This came during a press conference in which he addressed for the first time the agreement finally reached between Washington and Tehran to end the war.
Netanyahu said: “We have established heightened security zones around Israel. We did this in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria, and we will remain in the security zones as long as necessary to protect our country.”
He added: “With regard to Lebanon , we have established a buffer zone, a security zone, and we will remain in it as long as necessary.”
He continued: “Iran wanted us to withdraw from there, but that didn’t happen (…). And I think our American friends respect that.”
Regarding the memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran, Netanyahu said: “We do not yet know what the agreement between Washington and Tehran will be.”
On Sunday, the United States, Iran, and Pakistani mediation announced that Washington and Tehran had reached an agreement on a memorandum of understanding to end the war that Washington and Tel Aviv started against Tehran on February 28.
While US President Donald Trump announced on Monday that his country and Iran had already signed the agreement and that the Strait of Hormuz would be “fully open” starting Friday, Tehran merely stated that the signing of the memorandum would take place in Geneva, Switzerland on Friday.
According to observers, the preliminary signing appears to be an immediate and temporary activation of the ceasefire and the lifting of the naval blockade on Iran, while Geneva will witness the public signing ceremony, official publication, and the launch of the 60-day phase of the thorny technical negotiations.
On the domestic front, Netanyahu announced his intention to run in the elections scheduled for later this year, while facing internal criticism over his handling of the Middle East war and its repercussions.
